Lithuanian Bar Association investigates lawyer’s services to Nemunas Dawn

The Lithuanian Bar Association has opened an investigation into legal services provided and not declared by Laura Matjošaitytė, a member of Lithuania’s Central Electoral Commission, to the Nemunas Dawn party, LRT reported, citing ELTA.

“The investigation was opened on September 18 following a submission by the chair of the Lithuanian Bar Association’s Council,” the association’s press representative, Rūta Andriuškaitė, told ELTA.

The investigation will assess whether Matjošaitytė’s actions complied with the Law on the Bar and the Lithuanian Code of Ethics for Lawyers.

The Disciplinary and Consumer Disputes Committee is expected to examine the matter at a meeting on October 7. The Bar Council is scheduled to assess the investigation material on October 24.

Homeland Union Lithuanian Christian Democrat representatives in parliament, Giedrė Balčytytė and Arvydas Anušauskas, asked the Bar Council to assess Matjošaitytė’s conduct. They cited possible violations of the Electoral Code and the Code of Ethics for Lawyers related to her consultations, the use of professional secrecy and her failure to recuse herself from Central Electoral Commission matters involving Nemunas Dawn.

Central Electoral Commission also investigating

The Central Electoral Commission opened its own investigation on Thursday into services Matjošaitytė provided to Nemunas Dawn two years ago.

Commission chair Lina Petronienė said the investigation was needed to determine the extent of the services Matjošaitytė provided to the party before becoming a commission member.

This week, the commission also said that metadata showed Matjošaitytė had prepared Nemunas Dawn’s response to the commission concerning membership fees two years ago.

According to Delfi, in September 2024, more than a month before the parliamentary elections, Matjošaitytė sent Nemunas Dawn vice-chair Robertas Puchovičius a draft response to the commission that she had prepared for the party. She asked him to transfer the response into a Word document he had created so that her metadata would not remain. Puchovičius told Delfi that he did not remember receiving such an email.

The Chief Official Ethics Commission has also received a complaint concerning Matjošaitytė. Last week, it decided to gather additional information before deciding whether to open an investigation.

The questions about Matjošaitytė’s conduct arose after Delfi reported that she may have consulted Nemunas Dawn before the 2024 parliamentary elections and helped the party prepare a response to the Central Electoral Commission.

Nemunas Dawn leader Remigijus Žemaitaitis said the party had consulted Matjošaitytė on various issues but had not paid her. Matjošaitytė herself said she had not received “a single euro” for the consultations.